Per Mertesacker is entrusted with the job of collecting fines from Arsenal players in breach of club discipline but the German may find himself going cap in hand to manager Arsene Wenger for his place in the team.

It's a roller-coaster Premier League season... and we are all enjoying the ride

The Premier League will never convince its sceptics that it is the strongest domestic competition in world football but on the evidence of this season, few others will be as unpredictable or as entertaining.

At the beginning of the campaign, who could have guessed that the favourites for the title, Manchester City, would have lost four matches by November 10 and would be eighth in the table? That City remain most bookmakers’ choice for glory says as much about the odds-makers’ lack of faith in the credentials of rivals as it does about their confidence that Manuel Pellegrini will oversee an improvement.

Man down: Phil Bardsley nets for Sunderland against Manchester City
Congratulations to those who believed in the summer that Southampton, managed so astutely by Mauricio Pochettino, would be capable of rising to third with more than a quarter of the season gone. Apart from Arsenal — another club who have caused a surprise — Saints sit above every London club, as the differing fortunes of the capital’s sides reflect the chaotic nature of the division.

Although Crystal Palace have still to settle on a new manager and are quickly starting to look stranded, it is more difficult to see a pattern for what might happen to the other teams from the capital. Arsenal have made a marvellous start, but, as a club without a trophy since 2005, questions have to be asked about whether they can last the pace.

That they have managed to stay at the summit despite significant injury problems suggests, perhaps, that they are strong enough this year to remain in the race until its conclusion.

Toon raider: Newcastle's Yoan Gouffran celebrates his goal against Chelsea
Chelsea have a manager, and some senior players, who know exactly what is required to win the Premier League title. There is, however, a fragility about this side that was not apparent in previous Jose Mourinho-coached editions.

Would the championship-winning teams of 2005 and 2006 have produced successive performances as drab as those against Newcastle and West Brom? These were fixtures from which Chelsea would have expected to gather six points; in the end, they took only one, and they were highly fortunate to do so.

Tottenham winger Andros Townsend believes the shake-up among some of the top managers has created a more even fight. The top two, Arsenal and Liverpool, are led by the same men but there have been changes elsewhere.

In the bag: West Bromwich Albion's Morgan Amalfitano scores past Manchester United's Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea
“If you look at the situation, four clubs changed their manager over the summer,” he told Standard Sport. “Both the Manchester clubs have new managers and it’s the same at Chelsea and Everton. We’re one of the sides who’ve kept our manager, which gives us continuity and we hope that can offer us an edge.”

Despite such optimism, Tottenham themselves have struggled to convince as they try to adapt to life without Gareth Bale and attempt to bring the best from seven summer signings, none of whom had played before in the Premier League. While Andre Villas-Boas will be relieved that no club has made a decisive break at the top of the table, the inconsistency of others increases the pressure on him, as his bosses wonder why Spurs have not, as yet, seized their opportunity.

Head of the class: Dejan Lovren scores as Southampton beat Liverpool
West Ham and Fulham would, of course, give much to swap places with Tottenham, whatever uncertainty they might be suffering. Fulham manager Martin Jol, under severe pressure, has already targeted his team’s matches against the League’s weaker sides to secure their survival.

West Ham have won only twice in the League this season, yet one of those victories — a 3-0 win at White Hart Lane early in October — was further demonstration of the fallibility of every team. In the Premier League this season, there is no Barcelona or Bayern Munich; that is no bad thing, however. If it is easy to guess the outcome of a sporting event, it becomes immediately less appealing. Furthermore, the lack of a dominant force in the Premier League does not, at this stage, seem to have affected English football’s standing in the European game this term.

Hammered: Ravel Morrison applies the flourish to West Ham's memorable 3-0 win at White Hart Lane
In the Champions League, there is every chance that all four English clubs will progress to the knockout stages of the competition, while in the Europa League, Tottenham have cruised through their group and Swansea should join them in the last 32.

Fans of the clubs used to imposing themselves on the Premier League might disagree but if we have a competition where West Brom can win at Old Trafford, where Cardiff and Sunderland can beat City and where Chelsea can lose at Newcastle, that is surely something to be cherished.

For the first time in many a season, we have been surprised again and again by what has happened in the Premier League. If that means a tougher time for the top clubs, or teams like Southampton challenging for a Champions League place, then long may it continue.